UCLA Anderson Partners with UCLA School of Law to Create Interdisciplinary Center for Real Estate

Program to include faculty from seven departments at UCLA

LOS ANGELES - UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale announced today the formation of a new center partnership between the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA Anderson School of Management and UCLA School of Law. The center’s new name is the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA and marks the first such venture between top-tier schools of business and law.

The partnership reflects the growing interdisciplinary focus of the UCLA Ziman Center and of UCLA as a whole. These changes take effect immediately.

Carnesale made the announcement after approving a recommendation for the collaborative center by UCLA Anderson School Dean Bruce Willison and School of Law Dean Michael Schill.

“Few current issues can be addressed by one discipline alone,” Carnesale said. “Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential and is a top priority at UCLA. This partnership between UCLA Anderson and the School of Law will strengthen the Ziman Center’s role in an industry that makes an enormous contribution to the economy of Southern California. Collaboration will enhance opportunities for interdisciplinary research and curricular development, along with UCLA’s community outreach in the field of real estate.”

The reestablished Ziman Center will continue to work to offer students a full range of coursework that considers real estate and its significance in the economy and urban environment. The center’s recently established Faculty Research Fellows Program includes faculty members from seven academic departments at UCLA, including the UCLA Law School.

“UCLA has always steadily maintained and enhanced an interdisciplinary approach to legal studies,” said Dean Schill, a national expert on real estate and housing policy, deregulation, finance and discrimination. “Through courses and research integrated across campus, this partnership will offer all of our students and faculty a more holistic view of the real estate subjects and issues that interest them.”

UCLA Anderson’s Dean Willison said: “We’re eager to bring together experts from the Law School and other key academic disciplines to create a real estate program that is grounded in interdisciplinary research and teaching, along with practical application principles. This joint center’s influence will benefit not only UCLA students and faculty, but also our vast network of alumni, many of whom work in real estate and related industries.”

“We’ll also continue to create and maintain alliances with key corporate and community partners who have a stake in this evolving industry,” Willison added.

The Richard S. Ziman Center was established in 2001 with a mandate to create and manage UCLA Anderson’s academic activities in the field of real estate, including curriculum development, research and outreach to a diverse group of organizations and professionals involved in the vast and ever-changing real estate industry. That mandate is now being extended across the UCLA campus.

The center was founded with a substantial endowment from a group of visionary leaders in the real estate industry led by the center’s founding chairman, John S. Long, founder and CEO of Highridge Partners. Namesake Richard S. Ziman, chairman and CEO of Arden Realty Inc., gave a leadership and naming gift of $5 million.

“Where we live and the quality of our future personal and business lives will be determined by the planning, design and development of our urban environment,” Ziman said. “I believe we can meet that challenge if the vision begins at institutions like UCLA, working in tandem with business and political leaders to take us to each successive level of innovation.”

John Long described the joint center as “a fulfillment of a core goal to fully utilize the resources of the entire university to create a robust and integrated platform. The expanded resources will provide more valuable and relevant research and programs for industry and community.”

Archie Kleingartner, professor of management and policy studies at UCLA Anderson School and School of Public Affairs, will serve as the first director of the joint center, reporting to Willison and Schill.

Recently appointed managing director and chief operating officer of the center Tim Kawahara will oversee the development and implementation of the center’s courses, programs, activities and relationships.

The Ziman Center will remain physically located in the UCLA Anderson complex.

About UCLA Anderson School of ManagementUCLA Anderson School of Management is perennially ranked among the top-tier business schools in the world. Award-winning faculty renowned for their research and teaching, highly selective admissions, successful alumni and world-class facilities combine to provide an extraordinary learning environment. Established in 1935, UCLA Anderson provides management education to more than 1,400 students enrolled in full-time, part-time and executive MBA programs and doctoral programs.

UCLA Anderson’s faculty includes outstanding educators and researchers who share their scholarship and expertise in such fundamental areas as finance, marketing, accounting, business economics, decision sciences, operations and technology management, human resources and organizational behavior, information systems, strategy and policy.

Recognizing that the school offers unparalleled expertise in management education, the world's business community turns to UCLA Anderson School of Management as a center of influence for the ideas, innovations, strategies and talent that will shape the future.